President’s Inaugural Concert features our world-class faculty musicians

The Department of Music and School of Arts and Communication honor the inauguration of President Thomas W. Krise in a special concert featuring 31 of our world-class music faculty on Tuesday, September 25 at 8pm in Lagerquist Concert Hall.

Performances will feature all the faculty resident ensembles – Regency String Quartet, Camas Wind Quintet, Lyric Brass Quintet, and Regency Jazz Ensemble – along with members of the voice, keyboard, and instrumental faculty. Repertoire was selected with PLU’s history in mind.

“This is a special occasion. It’s first and foremost a celebration of the Inauguration of President Krise, and also a rare gathering of PLU faculty artists with a program featuring music with wide appeal,” Jim Brown, chair of vocal studies, says. “It’s a great opportunity for us to showcase our wonderful music faculty.”

Svend Rønning, chair of stringed instruments, says that this is the first time in the 12 years he has been at PLU that every faculty ensemble and so many voice, keyboard, and instrumental faculty are performing together.

The concert is a survey of the many flavors of music that have sprung from Pastor Sperati’s musical mission at PLU. Sperati was one of PLU’s four charter faculty members, professor of music and mentor to Choir of the West director Gunnar Malmin.

The first half of the concert features resident ensembles that have existed since the early 1980’s as a showcase for the talents of PLU’s distinguished music faculty. PLU’s large and distinguished vocal faculty is represented in selections of the Sperati family’s beloved Italian Opera, in this case, Mozart’s Cosi fan tutti. Finally, the musicians will combine forces to perform an example of Lutheran Church Music from the German High Baroque.

J.S. Bach’s Cantata No. 29, Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir (We Thank You, God, We Thank You), was selected not only because it is an archetypal example of Lutheran Church Music, but also because of its significance in the “changing of the guard,” thanking God for a new town council in the City of Leipzig, much like the changing of the presidential administration at PLU.

Other repertoire will include selections from Poulenc’s Sextet for Piano and Wind Quintet, Debussy’s String Quartet, Morley and Mase’s Elizabethan Ayres, Parker’s Billie’s Bounce and other outstanding works.

Admission is free and open to the public. No tickets required. Can’t make it? We’ll be streaming live!